This final episode of our first season closes with some final thoughts from most of this season’s guests where transgender youth in K-12 sports currently stands, where it could be headed, and what we should be doing with our concerns in the meantime.
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In this episode, I explore the various factions who, despite their different general ideologies, have united in advocating for the exclusion of trans kids from sports. We discuss why this presents such a challenge when working to educate and advocate around this issue. I also provide some additional details on […]
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When I started thinking about how to address the issue of trans exclusion from youth sports, I knew I needed to include the culture/industry of youth sports as part of the discussion. The pressure to compete and perform at a high level in athletics is reaching kids earlier than ever […]
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One of the most commonly expressed objections to the inclusion of trans athletes is that it is fundamentally unfair, particularly to cis women and girls, to compete against trans women and girls. While this cultural belief may be ubiquitous, the science behind it is far from black and white. Without […]
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This episode picks up where the last left off – about 50 years ago – when Title IX’s enactment changed education and athletics for women and girls in some big ways. But this 50 year old statute and implementing regulations were not created with trans and non-binary students in mind. […]
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To better understand how and why sports are a part of education, this episode goes back to where they started. Although the culture of youth sports has certainly evolved, the purpose of interscholastic athletics really has not. Today, just like 100 years ago, educators value the role of sport in […]
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Episode 2 looks at the recent legislative push to ban transgender kids from scholastic sports across the country in the context of the anti-trans bathroom bans that preceded it. I also dive into the Soule v. Connecticut case that is so frequently referenced as an example of trans athlete exceptionalism despite the […]
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In Episode 1, I start to introduce you to some of the legal scholars and advocates I interviewed in my research. Their remarks all come from recorded interviews that are available in full via provided links. I excerpted these specific portions to frame my approach to discussing the significance of […]
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This brief prologue explains a bit about who I am as host and creator of Season 1 of Hearsay from the Sidelines. You can learn more about me as a professional via my Seton Hall Law faculty profile. My interest in creating a podcast focused on the issue of transgender […]
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There is a common refrain that suggests sports should be separate from events or politics. It is one we often hear. Certainly sports do provide a distraction at times. But to paraphrase the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield in the movie Back to School there is a place where sports are […]
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There is little job security for NFL head coaches. It has been said NFL stands for Not For Long, rather than National Football League. But the league which has struggled to promote African American and other minority coaches to head coaching positions, despite having put forward and expanded its Rooney […]
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Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, has thirty plus year legacy of making thought-provoking documentaries for PBS. His current subject is Muhammad Ali. Burns’ four-part look at Ali’s life and times premiered on Sunday and continues over the next three days. There is probably no athlete, perhaps at any time in history, […]
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This past week has been a remarkable one in sports. An active NFL player came out as gay. A superstar gymnast took the penultimate step toward becoming the greatest of all time in her sport by competing to honor of and to remind the world, including her own national governing […]
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Transgender weightlifter, Laurel Hubbard transitioned eight years ago at the age of 35. Since then, she has successfully met all of the requirements of the International Olympic Committee’s regulations for trans athletes and fair competition. The IOC policy specifies conditions under which those who transition from male to female can […]
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In the summer of 2015, I had the opportunity to be involved with the Special Olympics World Games based in Los Angeles, California. I spent the whole week working the volleyball portion of the whole tournament. Teams came from all corners of the world to participate. I have never seen […]
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Just yesterday, on this site, Denise Harvey took on the “Tradition of Classism & Racism in ‘Elite’ Sports“. It is true that sports have historically been one of the areas of society where barriers to full participation have been erected to keep others out. Whether those others being kept out […]
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